


Brother's keeper

by babylearnedtoread



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bottom Lance (Voltron), Cheerleader Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Has ADHD, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Maybe not a lot but I get carried away, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Rape/Non-con Elements, Smut, Swearing, Tags May Change, Top Keith (Voltron), i don't want to spoil anything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26411554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babylearnedtoread/pseuds/babylearnedtoread
Summary: Lance starts his junior year at Garrison High and his brother asks Keith to keep an eye on him. The task is a lot more difficult than it seemed at first and it gets personal pretty fast
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 87





	1. Promise

**Author's Note:**

> I want to apologize now for the incorrect Spanish. I am using Google translate, I don't speak Spanish but I just love the idea of them switching between English and Spanish. So sorry in advance

"Dude, thank you so much for coming! Mama nearly had a heart attack."

There is shuffling in the kitchen. "Luis, ¿quién está en la puerta? (Luis, who's at the door?)"  
A woman's voice shouts before the owner steps in the room, wiping her hands on her apron. 

"Oh, Keith, cariño, I told Luis he shouldn't bother you at such an hour." She throws her son a scolding glance. 

"It's absolutely no problem. Though I warned Luis that I've only worked on cars and my motorcycle before so I don't know how much of a help I can be." He rubs a hand on the back of his neck. 

Her face softens. "Oh nonsense, cariño, you're a smart boy, I know you'll figure it out." She walks him in the kitchen to the washing machine. "You're still driving that damned thing?" Lucia let's out a disapproving huff. 

"Of course, mama, his broody vibe would seem stupid without it." Luis laughs and pats Keith on the back, who jams his elbow in his friend's ribs when Lucia isn't watching. 

"So, what happened?" He starts pulling the machine from under the counter with the help of Luis. 

"Mama was loading the dishes and when she turned it on, we just heard a bang and it stopped." Luis shrugs. "I don't know, but it seems concerning. "

"Yeah, usually stuff banging around the house can be concerning." He starts inspecting the back of the machine. A snort comes from behind and he turns startled by the fourth person in the room who he hasn't noticed since he stepped in the kitchen. 

His eyes land on a pair of long, brown legs, crossed at the ankles. A black, thin chain circles one of them hanging loose over the boney ankle. His eyes travel upwards to meet a pair of tight blue boxers, barely visible from under the grey loose long sleeved shirt. The head and shoulders are still hidden. 

The owner of the snort finally emerges from the fridge, holding a carton of ice cream close to his chest. He closes the door with one swift move of his hips and moves to the counter to grab a spoon. 

Time seems, just like his legs, to stretch out forever as Keith watches every move. He blinks out of his daze when Luis clears his throat audibly. His gaze focuses on his distraction"s face, split by a wide grin. 

"Having fun, Lance?" He almost doesn't register Luis speaking. 

Lance leans against the counter, popping the ice cream open and dipping the spoon in it slowly before pulling it back up and putting it in between his lips just as slowly. "Oh come on, you can't tell me you didn't hear it too." 

Lucia is next to clear her throat, crossing her arms over her chest. "What did I tell you, mijo? No more postre (dessert) before dinner." She taps her fingers on her forearm, expecting Lance to put down the spoon. 

Instead, he's already running for the stairs, giggling. "They left it in the fridge, mama, not in the freezer. It would have melted! I had to save it!" He stops at the top of the stairs, stabbing the ice cream with the spoon before lifting his hand in a quick wave. "Bye, mullet!" The door is shut loudly behind him and the giggles die down. 

Lucia huffs in exasperation, but a fond smile appears on her face. "This boy is going to be the death of me." 

He spends about 20 minutes before realizing that they're going to need a spare part before he can do anything. He quickly gathers his tools, promising Mrs McClain that he'll be back anothed day with the spare part. 

"Um, Keith?" Luis fidgets with his fingers. "Can I talk to you about something?" 

"Sure", he says, though his voice sounds unsure. No good things ever come out from those words. 

"This may be a lot to ask, but you know I told you Lance and Rachel are going to start going to Garrison High this fall." Keith nods. 

"And you know, now that I'm going to college, I'm not gonna be around as much." Keith squints his eyes trying to figure out where his friend is going with this. "Yeah."

"I kinda wanted to ask you for a favor." He stops for a few seconds waiting for a reaction from Keith. 

"Oh my God, dude, just get on with it. I don't have all night." 

"Right, right. Could you maybe keep an eye on Lance for me?"

"Keep an eye...for what?" If Luis would just stop speaking in riddles...

"For anything really. But especially people." 

"I don't think I follow. Why did they even have to move schools? You said it had something to do with him, but never got into the details. " 

"That's a story for another time. But does it really matter? Look," he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Lance tends to attract the wrong crowd. Rachel will probably be fine, more than fine even. She's a tough one. And she'll be looking after him too. But things might go sideways and I need you to promise me that you'll do your best to keep him away from that. You don't have to spend time with him, just watch from a distance or something. Nothing weird though." He laughs. 

"He's going through a tough time right now and I'm not going to be here to protect him anymore. So, can you promise me that?" There's a glint of vulnerability in his eyes, almost pleading. Keith sighs, squeezing Luis' shoulder. "Of course, man, I promise. But I'm not sure Lance is gonna be too happy about that. He kinda hates me."

Tension leaves Luis' shoulders and he lets out a low chuckle. "Ha, right. Funny, Kogane."

Keith frowns confused by the reaction. He doesn't remember saying something funny. He checks his phone. He has three phone calls from Shiro and one from Adam. "Damn it, I forgot to tell Shiro where I'm going." "Then go back home before he sends the whole police station after you." Luis' chest rises with laughter in the tighthug he gives him and pats Keith on the back. His phone vibrates against his thigh and he reaches for it with a sigh. "I'm coming home, Shiro, calm down." His neutral voice is soon covered by two loud ones and he has to pull the phone away from his ear. Great, he's in deep shit now. 


	2. Worth it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's job has already become harder, but it might be worth if after all

Lance's pov

Meeting new people is always exciting for him. When his family suggested going to a different high school, he'd locked himself in his room, promising them that if they go through with it he'll run away from home. 

He may have exaggerated a little. This might be good for him. He's getting a second chance at his first day of high school. He should take advantage of it.

He can't help feeling nervous though. He's buzzing with excitement and anxiety. His sister nudges him in the side and he shoves his thoughts in the back of his head. He doesn't need any of that today. He can't spend the whole day in his head. 

"We're here dumbass." Rachel is already opening the car door, slipping her bag over her shoulder. "Are you ready for this fresh hell?" 

He he shoots her a bright smile and a wink. "Oh come on, Rach. Some say high school is the best time of our lives."

"Hasn't seemed like it so far..." She mutters under her breath, but Lance still hears it. He chooses to ignore it. Nothing is going to ruin today for him. 

~~~~

"You've got to be kidding me...What are you doing, Mullet?" He rolls his eyes and returns to opening his new locker. 

"Saving you from a future mistake. Joshua just got back from juvie. Trust me, you don't want his attention." The frown and invisible smoke coming out of his ears are adorable really, but he almost got a number from a hottie so he can't not be mad at Keith just because he looks adorable. 

"Is this about that bullshit Luis put in your head?" He swings his locker shut and starts walking to his next class. The corridors are a little confusing and all the people around him are making it hard for him to see the numbers on the doors. Luckily, he's only met people eager to help him get where he wants to go. 

Keith is still following him, finally managing to walk beside him. "He told you about that?" 

"Yeah, well he figured I might find it weird waking up with a tail all of a sudden." He flashes a grin towards the other boy before whipping his head to the side to stop a passing student. 

Not just any student, of course, the boy had his eyes on him since he walked in the hallway. 

"Hi, there, stranger." He places a finger on the boy's chest. "Mind showing me where is Mr" he checks the paper in his hand, " West is?" He bats his eyelashes, even though he doesn't really need to. He knows he already has the guy's attention." 

"You have class with Adam? I can-" Keith speaks behind him but is interrupted by the other boy in front of them, who spares him a quick glance and a smirk before returning his attention to Lance. 

"Sure thing, blue eyes. Anything for you." He lets Lance hook an arm around his and they start walking. "I'm James, by the way." 

"Lance, but you can call me tonight." He winks and the boy laughs. He thinks for a moment Keith might follow them but a voice calls his name. 

"Keith, no! Not here!" 

"But he- Pidge no, let me-" 

Lance looks over his shoulder and can't help a smile when he sees a short, wild-haired girl pulling Keith in the opposite direction, clinging to his leg.

Keith's pov

He hardly ever goes to the locker room at school. It smells disgusting and it looks just the same. Plus it's filled with the biggest assholes on Earth and he'd rather avoid them as much as he can outside of classes. 

This time he has to go in the locker rooms. He has to. He needs to have a talk with James, the king of all assholes. 

He spots him as soon as he comes through the door and he wastes no time before rushing to him and pinning him against the lockers. 

"Didn't think I'd see you around here, Kogane. What gives?" He has a knowing grin on his face and Keith has to physically stop himself from punching it off his face. He'd love nothing more.

"Stay away from Lance." He snarles and Jmes lifts a hand fo signal his friends not to intervene. 

"Why? Is he your boyfriend or something?" His grin widens when he sees Keith's cheeks darkening. 

"No, but he's not gonna be yours either."

"Who said I want one? It's high school, Kogane, have some fun!"

"Have fun with someone else, but don't touch Lance." He drops his arm holding James pressed against the lockers and he turns on his heels. 

Just as he's about to walk out the door he hears James talk. "Oh, but I'd have so much fun with him. And he'd let me. Didn't you see, Kogane? He was basically begging for me to fuck him?"

Keith sees red. He doesn't even remember turning around and running towards the other boy's throat, but he's on top of him in seconds, hands around his throat. James's friends lift him off the other boy who laughs breathlessly. 

"Get something in that head of yours, Kogane." He leans closer to Keith's ear. "I do whatever and whoever I want." He pulls away from him and the warm breath on his face is replaced by sharp pain in his jaw. 

All the air is sucked out of him by another punch in his stomach and he falls to the floor, not held by hands anymore. 

He stays on the floor, clutching his stomach for a good 4 minutes before someone else walks in the room. He hears a gasp and footsteps running towards him before they come into view. 

He'd recognize those legs anywhere as they drop to their knees beside him. Hands pull him in a sitting position. "Keith! What the hell happened?"

He cradles Keith's face in his hands. He winces when Lance's fingers brush over his jaw and Lance pulls if away as if he was burned. He kind of misses the touch, but he brushes it off, concentrating on the pain in his abdomen. That is going to leave a bruise he won't like.

"James happened." He spits out. Lance frowns dropping his hands on his knees as he's thinking. "So I read him well, huh? Grade A asshole?"

"Yeah." Keith let's out a laugh which he immediately regrets, pain shooting through his abdomen. 

"What are you doing here?" He looks st Lance's body for the first time and he notices the red and white unmistakable combo. 

"Cheerleading practice. I, uh-" rubs the back of his head, " I got in." He looks down at his hands, biting his lip. Keith has no idea what supernatural force pushed him to do this, but despite the discomfort in his body, he reaches with a hand and squeezes one of Lance's. 

"That's amazing, Lance." Blue eyes shot up at him and a wide smile spreads over the boy's face. 

"I know, I am so excited!" He lifts himself off the floor, extending his hand for Keith to grab. Keith accepts it, not trusting his own legs to do all the work. 

"You should come see me practice some time." Keith swears he sees the boy's face growing a shade or two darker. "I mean to see the cheerleaders, not just me! Me too, cause I'm there too, but there are also Allura and Romelle and Plaxum. Only if you want of course. Actually, nevermind, don't come!" He finishes his rambling with a slap to his forehead and Keith can't help the laugh he's been holding in. 

"No, it's okay. I'll come see you." Keith makes sure to accentuate "you" and Lance smiles not as bright as before, but just as genuine. 

"Great, well, let me change and we can go have some lunch." 

He disappears behind the lockers and Keith exits the room to leave the boy some privacy. He never goes to the football games. He hates the crowd and he hates, well, basically everyone (with a few exceptions) at school. So why would he?

He might go to the next one though. And the one after. He found a reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one already cause I'm trying to post as soon as I write them


	3. What makes Lance vulnerable?

The next two wees go about the same as the first day. Everyone wants to know who the new kids are and even though there are quite a few new students, besides the freshmen who are always the talk of the school, the McClain twins seem to absorb most of the attention.

Rachel manages to dodge every attempt at being hit on by the boys and bullied by some of the girls. "Move, dude, I'm lesbian!" has become her mantra by now and besides being left alone by the guys, she even gets some more attention from the well-intentioned girls. 

Lance, on the other hand...he bathes in the attention. He hears a whistle, a flutter of eyelashes sent his way, and he walks with even more confidence down the halls. He's even made a friend already. 

Of course, Keith had to give his approval first, but after snarling at the boy, almost sending him flying on the ceiling like a scared cartoon cat and Pidge vouching for him, he agreed not to drive him away from Lance. 

The boy - Hunk - is actually very nice. Lance met him in cooking class and he had to save him from burning one of his sleeves on the stove, you know, like all great friendships start. 

Hunk's also a very good cook and an even better baker. The cookies he brought today to lunch were brought from heaven. 

And despite his clumsiness, Lance's were kind of amazing too, simpler, but delicious nonetheless.

Hunk makes Lance laugh too. And he laughs at Lance's jokes, no matter how bad they may be. He also offered to help Keith with his physics homework, so that's another point won from him. 

In other words, he thinks Hunk might be good for Lance. He'll keep an eye on him, but he seems trustworthy and harmless. 

"-even listening to me!" Lance's impatience rang loudly in his ear. "Hello, dude!" He waves a hand in front of Keith's face, almost smaking him but he grabs it in time. 

"What do you want, Lance?" 

"I was talking to you, but clearly you weren't paying attention to me." He pouts. Adorable.

Keith rolls his eyes, stabbing at his food with his fork. "Did it occur to you that I may not be interested in what you're saying?" 

Lance places a hand over his heart and gasps in mock-offence. "Rude, Mullet! I was asking if you want to partner up for that chemistry project. We're one person short." He taps his chin in consideration. "But since you're not interested, I guess we'll have to find someone else." 

Lance slaps his hands on the table, drawing attention to them for a moment. Keith looks around embarrassed. About what? He doesn't know, but the eyes on him ...he hates them. 

"What about", a grin forms on his face, " James! I bet he'd love to join us!" 

Keith's eyes widen and his grip on the plastic fork tightens until he hears it break. Everyone at the table lifts their eyes to look at him. 

He looks at Lance's smug grin and he talks through gritted teeth. "No need, I'll do you". Hunk chokes on his cookie. 

Keith didn't know his eyes could widen even more, but they might pop out of his head soon. "What? I- no no, I mean I'll do it, I'll join you...all...for the project." 

Pidge leans fo whisper in his ear "Smooth", retreating with a grin. 

"Shut up." All he can do is hope the floor opens and swallows him whole. Lance's smirk and eyes studying him aren't helping either. 

Hunk breaks the silence, mouth full of cookies. "Did Allura accept helping us?" 

"Yeah, I told you, my charms never fail." Lance throws a wink, but it's not directed at Hunk, who he's talking to. No, it's directed at Keith.

Pidge raises a brow, unimpressed. "I'm actually surprised you didn't make her drop out of school just so she wouldn't have to hear you flirt ever again." 

Keith is surprised by how easily Pidge has accepted Lance. She's not one to talk to people like Lance. This much energy as he has is usually exhausting for both of them yet here they are.

Lance is like an overpowered light bulb, ready to burst at any moment. He and Pidge are completely different, even if Pidge has her own kind of energy. 

She's a force hard to be tamed, powered by her curiosity. She's also very careful with who she trusts. But Lance...Lance got somehow past the main wall pretty fast. If someone looked at them once, they'd think they've been friends for years. 

"I'll let you know my flirting skills are amazing and I even got her number. So ha!" Lance flips her off. 

"You guys just can't admit that I managed to get in our group the most beautiful girls AND the best chemist in our class. And yeah, by flirting."

"You just have to flirt with everyone, don't you?" Keith mutters, still looking at his plate. 

"Not everyone. I flirt with beauty, Keith." Lance clarifies. Pidge snorts next to Keith. "Yeah? Than flirt with that plant. It's kinda pretty, and i think it's looking at you." 

Lance rolls his eyes. "Well why not? If a flower is pretty why not tell it? The ocean's gorgeous and I let it know all the time. It's nice appreciating the beautiful things." 

Keith looks up for the first time in a while just as Lance wipes a tear from the corner of his eye before it gets to fall. He clears his throat forcing a smile back on his face and stands up. 

"I'm bored. Hunk, can you show me where's the library? I told J-" 

Keith frowns. "You what?" 

"I'm meeting someone." 

Keith grits his teeth. "Who?" 

Lance is already walking away from the table. "Bye guys, see you after school at my house." He waves a hand and grabs Hunk's arm, pulling him away. 

"Lance, who-" 

He's gone. "-are you meeting..." 

Pidge places a hand on his back, a form of comfort they don't share often. "He'll be fine, Hunk's with him."

"Yeah." Hunk's with him. But James doesn't want Hunk there too. And James always has a plan of getting his way.

So he thinks is a good enough reason to take a quick detour to the library before class. Adam won't mind. Well, he'll mind, he'll be furious. But it's for a good a cause, he'd understand. 

He knows his way around the library pretty well. He knows all the places people tend to hide to make out. He's stumbled upon them once too many times so he's committed them to memory just to make sure he can avoid them. 

He had to miss one assignment once because one place in particular is very popular among the PDA kind of people. Hemingway seems to turn people on or something. 

That's where he's headed now. He takes a few turns, brushing his fingers over the books, looking over them, between the shelves to maybe spot his target. 

He almost sighs relieved, but he's breath catches in his throat at the next turn he takes. Something tightens around his stomach and throat and he freezes in place for a second unable to tear his eyes away. 

He doesn't know why he's so shocked. What was expecting to see when he came here. Maybe he was expecting, but he was hoping too. He was hoping he wouldn't see Lance pressed against one of the shelves, one leg wrapped around James's waist, hands wrapped around his neck, nwck bared with James's mouth exploring every inch, his own open, panting soflty, books shaking behind him. 

He hates it, he hates every second of it and he must be a masochist for letting it happen for another moment. He yanks James by the collar off Lance who gasps in surprise. 

His face turns into a scowl as he notices who interrupted them. James's is relaxed, grinning and watching Keith through heavy-lidded eyes. 

"What the hell, Mullet? What's your problem?" 

"Yeah, Mullet, what's your problem?" He lifts his fist but before it connects with James's face, soft hands wrap around his arm. "No! You don't need any more trouble with Iverson." He lowers his hand, eyez still locked on James and his smug grin.

"Why are you here, Keith?" Lance sounds tired. 

"I-" He looks at Lance and he looks even more tired than he sound. His hair is messy and his lips swollen. His neck is the worst though. It looks like someone worked with hate on it. 

"We need to get in Adam's class or he'll have our asses." Lance nods and grabs Keith's arm. Keith let's go of James's shirt and turns to follow Lance. He can hear James laugh behind him, but he doesn't dare break the grasp Lance has on his arm. 

"I thought you said he's a jerk. Why are you still seeing him?" 

"He's a jerk in general, not to me. Plus, he's a good kisser." Lance shrugs and Keith tries not to chip a tooth from the tension in his jaw. 

James passes by them, jacket thrown over his shoulder. "I'll call you, Lance." He winks and walks out the door. The only thing keeping Keith from following him and smashing his head in a wall is the shaking hand on his chest. Blue eyes look at him in concern. "Please..."

So he doesn't go. He walks with Lance. But he can't shake off the feeling of uneasiness. Not because of James, he's used to his. But because Lance looks vulnerable and he doesn't know why. What makes Lance vulnerable?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a moment when I thought "what if I give this story a sad ending" because my playlist got sad and now I don't know if I should get it a sad ending or a happy ending. What do you guys think?


	4. Can i get a hell yeah?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this mess :)

•Lance's pov•

"Hey, guys?" He steps to the side to let them in. Romelle walks in first, squinting her eyes as she scans the house. "It's a lot less...glittery than I expected." 

He scoffs and crosses his arms over his chest. "What? Like I'm all glittery?" Romelle looks at the sparkly blue hair clip he chose to keep his bangs out of his face. He looks up as if he'd be able to see what caught the attention of his friend on the top of his head. 

He drops his hands to his sides. "Well it's not like I got to design it anyway!"

Allura closes the forgotten door. "Did you guys start?" 

"Ha! Yeah, right. We'll start without you when we learn more than what H2O is." Allura doesn't look impressed by his joke. "No, Llura, you're the first ones to arrive. Keith has something to take care of first, Hunk has some shopping to do cause he wants to make us brownies and Pidge is in detention still." 

Romelle's face lights up and she looks at Allura who smiles like they're communicating telepathically and it's kind of scary from where Lance is standing. 

"This is perfect! We know exactly how to pass the time before they arrive." Allura is beaming with excitement for some reason and it's even more terrifying than the telepathy.

~20 minutes later~

"I don't know guys..."

"Oh come on, you said you loved them!" 

"Yeah, on you! It might be too short for me." 

"Even better." Romelle grins and winks at him. The girls laugh when Lance starts blushing furiously.

"Hey, what's that?" Allura pushes gently the sliding door of his closet to reveal some of his clothes.

Romelle gasps. "It's a crop top! Oh my God, why aren't you wearing this?" 

●

"Um, no, you're not wearing that." Nyma goes back to scrolling through her Instagram.

"Why not?" He rubs the back of his head, eyeing the shirt in his hand, trying to find the problem. 

Nyma rolles on her back and points at her own shirt, rolling her eyes in frustration, like it was the most obvious thing. 

"Because I'm wearing a crop top, idiot! We're not matching. Plus, I look way better in them, no offense." She looks back at her phone and misses Lance squeezing the top in his fist before throwing it to the back of his closet.

●

He meets Romelle's confused eyes. He was probably in his head for too long. "I don't know, it doesn't look good on me." 

Allura's mouth is hanging open and she shakes her head. "Are you kidding me? If anyone is going to pull this off, it's you!" 

Romelle throws the pieces of clothing at his face and claps her hands. "Come on, no more stalling! You're putting these on." 

He feels...weird, but good. It's snug around his chest and hips and it shows a lot of skin, but he's not complaining. "Are you good in there?" Allura's voice is muffled by the closed door and she knocks. 

"Yeah, come in." 

Romelle gasps and slaps one palm over her mouth. "You've got to be kidding me..." 

Allura just smiles from ear to ear, moving her eyes all over his body. Okay, he might be feeling a little exposed.

Lance sighs. "Yeah, I told you, not a good look."

Allura's smile drops. "What? No, Lance, have you looked in the mirror yet?" 

"Clearly not." Romelle adds. 

Allura puts her hands on his shoulders and spins him around until he's facing the mirror in the corner of his room and starts pushing him towards it. They stop far enough for him to see himself from ankles to his face. 

He tries to open his mouth to say something but he's not sure what so he closes it. Does he like it? Does it look good? Does HE look good? Do THEY think he looks good?

As if she could read his mind, Allura leans closer to him, her hands still on his shoulders, trying to lift herself up to reach his ear. "You look beautiful, can't you see it?" 

He could see it. He could see the girls smiling and he could feel the stinging in his eyes. Was he going to cry? He'd cry, because he was beautiful, because someone else thought he was beautiful and despite what everyone else thought of him, he hadn't known it. 

But the tears are stopped from spilling when the doorbell rings. "I'll get it!" Romelle is already half out the room by the time he processes what is happening. 

He hears chatter and laughter. "Hey, Lance? Mrs McClain?" Hunk yells from downstairs. "I brought some ice cream for the brownies. Can I put it in the freezer?" 

Oh no, the freezer. Shit shit shit shit. He startles Allura out of her thoughts and runs out the room and down the stairs as fast as he can. "Shit shit shit shit." 

The chicken! Mama told him to take the chicken out of the freezer when he gets home because she's making arroz con pollo tonight and HE FORGOT.

He runs past his friends shouting a quick "hi" and stumbles to get the chicken out. He turns on the water and submerges the plastic back under the hot spray. Now that's taken care of, he can finally breathe out relieved. 

"L-Lance?" He turns around to look at his friends and stares at them in confusion. Why are they all staring at him? 

•Keith's pov•

Keith wishes he was more respectful, but he just can't tear his eyes away. He knew Lance was 60% legs, but damn. In that skirt, they look even longer and they seem so easy to wrap around- Hahaha stop! 

He also never thought he'd get too see the day Lance wears a cheerleading uniform...a female one, with a short (and that means SHORT) skirt and a crop top that ends just above his navel. He never thought about Lance in a cheerleading uniform at all, no, of course not, but this is better than anything his mind could ever imagine.

Hunk is the first one to shake off the frozen state they're all in. "L-Lance?" Lance turns around and furrows his eyebrows in confusion.  
"What are you wearing, buddy?" 

It takes Lance another second to realize what his friend is talking about and his eyes widen in horror. He curls his still wet fingers around his arms in a useless attempt at covering himself.

Keith's mouth goes dry and he wonders when was the last time he blinked. Probably quite a while ago since they're beginning to sting. 

"Oh shit!" Lance mutters breathless. "I- fuck, I forgot I was wearing it. I'm sorry, I'll go change." 

"What? No," Pidge holds her hand up, "no, no. It's fine, Lance, you just caught us by surprise." 

Lance still looks extremely uncomfortable, and maybe embarrassed even though he didn't think Lance knew what embarrassment felt like. He should probably say something.

Hunk smiles softly, maybe noticing that Lance is still not looking any of them in the eyes. "Yeah, buddy, that's completely fine. We weren't expecting you to look so-" 

"Good." Keith breathes out and he mentally slaps himself. He's been standing there looking like an idiot and that's the first thing he says. 

Lance's eyes shoot up to look at him and he blushes before averting his eyes towards everyone else. "Thanks, guys. I don't know what I did but these two", hd points to where Romelle and Allura are standing, grinning at him, "decided to torture me today." 

Pidge flops on one of the chairs. "Well joke's on them cause this is a treat, not a torture." Keith doesn't miss the way she grins at him all too knowingly.

"Maybe you should ask for one of these for yourself." Allura taps her chin with a finger. "Yeah, maybe then we'd finally get more people to come to the games." Romelle adds and her grin is one to match Pidge's.

Lance seems to have relaxed as he laughs with his friends and Keith is glad the tension around them has dissipated and he doesn't have to find his words anymore. 

"Hey Keith, you've been awfully quiet. What do you think of Lance's new style?" Pidge almost shouts to make sure she has everyone's attention. Of course that little gremlin was going to pull something like this.

He sits on a chair on the opposite side from her, facing the living room. Lance is now standing in front of him next to Romelle.

"I don't know," he starts, sounding a lot more confident than he thought he would, "does it come with the skills? I mean, Hunk could wear that. Doesn't make him a cheerleader though." 

The corner of Lance's mouth twitches upwards and he starts moving towards Keith. He places one foot in front of the other, swaying his hips in a slightly bouncy walk. He stops in front of his chair and stretches one leg over Keith's shoulder and rests it on the edge of the kitchen island behind him.

Keith's eyes must have gone comically wide and his cheeks tinted red and by the way Pidge is trying too hard not to laugh out loud, he looks like something he should be embarrassed about. 

But Lance leans forward, his skirt dangling over Keith, but still dutifully hiding everything of importance and his leg straightens impossibly so he has no time to be embarrassed.

He's right there, in front of Keith's face, looking him in the eyes and breathing softly on his skin. "Convinced?" Lance grins and tilts his head to the side. Keith can't breathe. If he isn't allowed to breathe any longer he might pass out. 

He opens his mouth and closes it like a fish which makes Lance's grin grow wider. "Can I hear a 'hell yeah'?" 

Oh hell yeah, but he can't form words right now, or he might form the wrong ones. 

None of them hear the door opening or none of them takes enough pity on the two to let them know. 

A gasp. A lout thud. "Lance?!" Oh shit. 

Lance's eyes widen and he whips his head around, putting his leg back on the ground and Keith is allowed to breathe again. 

"Mama, no!" Lance rushes towards his mother, hands frantically waving in the air. "It's not what it-" 

"Lance, mijo, I thought I taught you better than that!" Keith thinks Lance might have started pleading in Spanish. 

"If you're going to be indecent with your novió (boyfriend), you could at least not do it in front of your friends!" Keith hears snickering from behind the angry Spanish mother and he notices Rachel trying very hard not to laugh her ass off. 

"Mama no! We weren't doing anything, I swear!" 

"Don't swear, mijo! And what are you wearing?" Oh no. "You'll get cold, catch pneumonia!" Oh, okay, that was the problem.

If Keith wasn't embarrassed and terrified for his life, he'd probably laugh at the exchange, especially at the heavy Spanish accent both had when they shouted. 

If he wasn't trying to slow his heart to a normal pace and get the reaction in his pants to calm down, he'd probably even get over the embarrassment and laugh. But he doesn't have that luxury.

"It's not a party, mama. They're here for a project." 

"What project? Are they giving projects in that sex education of yours now too?" She's eyeing Keith and he feels like she's silently asking him to dig a whole and jump in it. He's so close to actually doing it. Pidge whispers over the yells to the others who are just standing around awkwardly, trying not to laugh too loud. "Mrs McClain is a savage!" 

"Mama, please...haven't you embarrassed me enough already?" Lance pinches the bridge of his nose. His mother reaches with one hand and cups his cheek. Her voice is gentle and she smiles softly. "Okey, mijo, I'll let you go to your project now." Her face goes serious once more and she lifts a scolding finger. "But no mode of..." she moves her finger over Lance's body than over Keith's, " that. Entendido? (Understood?)"

Lance sighs in relief. "Si, mama."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep adding more and more scenes till I get to my original idea and I'm not sure if I'm complaining or not


	5. Party with your demons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the real angst starts
> 
> ■New tags■, please read them before reading this story

Keith hates a lot of things. He hates noisy people, those who chew on their pens and people who sing obnoxiously loud in the car. 

Lance is the embodiment of all those things, yet Keith can't help but find them endearing. He doesn't only not hate it when Lance turns the knob of the car radio until he finds a song he knows by heart and starts singing it at the top of his lungs, but it also fills him with a warm feeling he can never place, nor does he dare disturb it by overthinking it. 

Maybe he just hates other people. 

Keith also hates parties. He's always had. He's been only to 3 parties his whole life. One was his thirteenth birthday which Shiro made the mistake to throw for him and everyone from that day stopped showing up to their barbecue.

The second one was the school dance Adam and Shiro forced him to attend in his freshman year because Adam had to chaperone. Shiro was also called for extra security and he was the school's talk for a week after being dragged by Shiro dressed in his police uniform out on the dance floor. 

The third time, Shiro was not involved. He still hated the party. He had spent 2 hours in a corner, holding a cup filled with a suspicious liquid until he spotted Luis outside the house. He meant to ask him for a rode home, but Luis ran straight from the car inside the house so he decided to just walk home. He lost a shoe somewhere on the way. 

So yeah, Keith doesn't like parties because they are filled with loud people that he hates and somehow the universe always decides to give him an extra kick in the butt for good measure. 

Yet here is Lance, again destroying something he so cares about: his hate. He's being dragged to a Halloween party on Sunday. 

"Whatcha gonna wear?" Lance has been going through his closet for the past half hour, throwing clothes around the room. Keith looks down at his plain black t-shirt and black jeans. "Um, this." 

Lance looks over his shoulder, his body half deep in the closet. "Um, what?" He sighs. "Well, I guess you'll at least look like an angry motorcyclist with the boots and leather jacket. Oh wait, you are one." He smirks and he returns to his searching.

Minutes later, he comes back out of the closet shouting "Evrika!", takes off his current shirt and slips on an almost see-through shirt. The top is aqua blue and it ends just above his jeans so that if he lifts his arms in the air, it will ride up above his navel, which is nearly impossible to avoid since he's going to dance a lot.

The shirt matches the scaly make-up he had on when he opened the door for Keith. He adds some more glitter to the corner of his eyes and he drags Keith by the hand down the stairs. "Come on, the guys are probably already there and they'll take my absence as an excuse to run back home." 

"Wait a minute!" Luis shouts from the kitchen. He is spending this weekend at home. "You're not going to a party like that."

Keith looks at Lance's outfit and understands Luis's disapproval. It's not only the shirt. Lance is wearing light blue skinny jeans with holes that expose his legs from his mid-thigh to about 3 gingers under his knees. 

"The hell I'm not!" Lance crosses his arms over his chest, not breaking eye contact with his brother. 

"Lance, you're seventeen, you don't have to-" 

"It's a Halloween party, everyone is going like this!" 

"Lance..." 

Lance ignores his brother opens the door, heading straight to Keith's motorcycle. Luis sighs.

Keith takes the silence as his queue to leave after Lance but a hand on his arm stops him. Luis leans forward and speaks in a low voice, low enough for Lance not to hear him. "He's...he's in denial. Don't let him out of your sight, Keith, please! Do you understand?" 

Keith furrows his eyebrows. He doesn't understand but he nods. In denial?

He takes the jacket that's been hanging over his shoulder and offers it to Lance. Lance raises one eyebrow. "So we make sure that shirt is still on you by the time we get there." 

"Thanks, we wouldn't want to see that." Lance grins.

The ride there is smooth, not too much traffic on the way. Keith considers himself a prudent driver, especially when he has someone else with him on the bike. But when that someone is pressing against his back with his whole warmth and his hands are circling his waist tightly, sometimes worming their way up to his chest, it's getting more difficult to keep a clear head. And when that someone is Lance, the task seems nearly impossible. They arrive at the party in one piece nonetheless. 

Pidge almost throws herself in front of the motorcycle. "Fucking finally! Did you go on a quick date before deciding to join us?" 

"Shut up, gremlin. Do you have any idea how long it takes to get this right?" Lance points to his face.

"Should've abandoned a long time ago then. Nothing can help that face anyway." Lance sticks his tongue out at her. 

The inside of the house already feels like it's too hot and by the way most people are heavily making out seems like the only breathable air left is inside each other's lungs. 

"Lance," a whistle comes from behind them and they all spin on their heels but Lance who already has another body pressed to his back, hands sneaking around his body, "want a drink?" 

Lance nods, his eyes shut and leaning against the weight behind him. His eyes open and he turns to look at James, panic on his face. "I mean no, I'm good, thanks." 

"You sure?" 

"Yeah, I'll just get something myself if I get thirsty." 

"Mm I feel a thirst myself, maybe you can help me with it." James grins against Lance's neck and his eyes shift for a moment to Keith. 

He then takes Lance's hand, guiding him towards the middle of the room. They start dancing, if you could call it that. They're grinding against each other and making out like their life depends on it. 

Keith really wishes he didn't have to watch this, but he promised Luis he'd keep an eye on Lance. And quite frankly, he doesn't trust that asshole with one minute of privacy.

Him and Hunk don't drink all night since they're the drivers, but curiously, neither does Lance. Pidge has no restraint so he asks Hunk to be her self-control.

He follows Lance from afar as James takes him by the waist and carries him outside. Of course they have a fucking pool. What's a party without a pool, right? The more hazards the better. 

"Hey handsome, can I get you another drink? Or you can get me one? Or you could take me up- upsta- upstars?" He is no mood to deal with the drunk girl in front of him but he offers her a small smile as she continues to blabber. 

The music stops abruptly and aloud splash follows the short silence. Keith turns to look at the source and sees the piece of equipment sinking to the bottom of the pool. 

Close to the edge of the pool is standing Lance, alone, hugging himself and yelling at someone a few feet in front of him. "Get out of here, Rollo! I don't want to see you!" 

The guy, Rollo, takes an unsteady step forward. Lance takes one back. "Don't come near me!" 

"L-Lance, please, listen to me!" He takes another step forward and Lance doesn't notice, looking at the ground, still hugging himself. "I- I'm s- sorry, Lance, just let me...let me explain!" 

"You're drunk, Rollo, just leave!" 

Rollo takes a few more steps, quicker than Keith who is now running towards the two. He takes Lance's wrists in his hands and he holds them as tight as a drunk man can. 

"No, no, let go of me! Rollo, please, you're hurting me!" Tears are running down Lance's cheeks. 

"He told you to let him go, douchebag!" Keith wraps his left arm around Lance's waist to make sure the jerk doesn't drag him with him and punches Rollo with his right hand in the chin. 

Rollo stumbles back, nearly tripping into the pool and falls on his back. He doesn't throw him another glance, concentrating at the shivering body in his arms, leaning and sniffling against his chest. He has to take Lance away. 

Rollo has gotten up and started following them on the way to the motorcycle. "It's all her fault! I didn't know, Lance, you have to believe me!"

They're already halfway through the living room. He can see the door, but Lance shifts in his arms and stops, facing Rollo. 

"Didn't you know when I was saying NO? When I was begging for you to stop? Didn't it occur to you then?" Lance is yelling through hiccups and he chockes on his last words. 

Keith hears the change in breath, the heaving of his chest, the unfocused eyes, looking around desperately for help, the hand clutching at his chest. He recognizes the signs, he's been through all of them. Lance is having a panic attack. 

He grabs Lance's shoulders. "The bathroom?" Someone points towards the end of the hallway, but no one says a word. Once he has Lance in the bathroom he fumbles to close the door and Lance drops to the ground in a fetal position. 

"Lance, look at me! Lance! Lance? Can you hear me?" Lance nods frantically. 

"Breathe with me, okay? You've vot this, you'll be okay. Do you trust me?" Another nod. "Come on, breathe with me." Lancd draws in shaky breath after shaky breath until it slows down to an acceptable level and he passes out in Keith's arms. 

Keith brushes a finger over his cheek, still damp from the fresh tears and he kisses his head. He cradles him in his arms and walks with the others to Hunk's car. He has to call Luis.

**Author's Note:**

> God I really have ideas for this and I've been meaning to write for quite awhile but I know it's going to take a while and I hope am going to be able to stick to finishing it before getting bored. 
> 
> Seeing you guys leaving kudos ❤ and comments would really help me, so please help out a poor soul. 
> 
> I hope you're enjoying it so far.


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